August 27, 2011
by Ben Matchett, U of Calgary Sports Information
Dobko, Dinos all over Bears in pre-season tilt
LACOMBE, Alta. – The University of Calgary Dinos rode a solid performance from the first offensive group in the opening half to cruise to a 49-14 non-conference victory over the Alberta Golden Bears Saturday night at MEGlobal Athletic Park in Lacombe, Alta.
The top offensive group, led by returning national rookie-of-the-year quarterback Eric Dzwilewski, looked impressive in putting together a 38-point first half which featured two touchdowns apiece from running backs Matt Walter and Steven Lumbala along with receiver Chris Dobko.
Dobko had a spectacular night, hauling down eight catches for 149 yards and those two majors, while newcomer Jake Harty racked up 99 yards on four catches in his debut with the Dinos. Along the ground, Walter picked up 76 yards on nine carries.
Dzwilewski completed 11 of 16 passes with one pick and one touchdown before giving way late in the second quarter to pure freshman Andrew Buckley out of Calgary’s Rundle College. Poised beyond his years, Buckley completed 9 of 14 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown in just over a quarter’s work before fellow freshman Jimmy Underdahl came in for mop-up duty late.
Dinos head coach Blake Nill was suitably impressed with his rookie pivots, especially Buckley.
“That was his first game, and he really was impressive,” said sixth-year head coach Nill. “He is a cerebral quarterback, he makes good decisions, and he doesn’t make mistakes.
“Overall, I thought we did a good job across the board tonight. We’ll get some guys back next week that we sat out tonight, and we’ll be ready to play Manitoba. This is a real positive for us moving into the season.”
Alberta’s touchdowns were scored by KK Sonuga on a 53-yard romp to the end zone as well as a Porter Brown catch in the fourth quarter.
In earlier action Saturday, the Dinos and Golden Bears rookies faced off in a controlled scrimmage, featuring modified rules and no kicking. The hour-long affair ended up in a 6-6 tie, with each team scoring one touchdown.
Both teams open the 2011 Canada West regular season next week. The Golden Bears return to the scene of their massive 2010 playoff upset as they take on the Saskatchewan Huskies next Friday night in Saskatoon, while the Dinos head one province further to kick off their season against the Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg. Kickoff goes at 12 p.m. MT on Saturday, Sept. 3, live on Shaw TV and qr77.com.
Calgary’s home opener is set for Friday, Sept. 9 when they host the UBC Thunderbirds at McMahon Stadium.
Golden Bears-Dinos Stats
U of C Athletics
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August 27, 2011
by U of Regina Sports Information
Rams score non-conference win over Manitoba
REGINA – It took 55 minutes for them to find the end zone, but the University of Regina Rams were still able to lift the lid on the 2011 season with a 15-7 win over the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference game at Mosaic Stadium.
Bisons-Rams Stats
First-year running back Michael Kiapway scored on a nice 13-yard run just past the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter, giving the Rams their first major of the game and extending their lead to eight.
Manitoba’s Anthony Coombs scored the lone major of the first half, hauling in a 10-yard pass from Khaleal Williams five minutes into the second quarter. The Bisons took a 7-5 lead into halftime, as the Rams got an 18-yard chip shot field goal from Chris Bodnar in the first quarter and added a pair of points on a conceded Bisons safety in the second.
Bodnar’s second field goal of the contest – a 39-yard effort – gave the Rams an 8-7 advantage early in the third quarter. Neither team scored again until Kiapway’s major late in the contest.
Kiapway ended up with a game-high 77 yards on 10 rushes for Regina, while newcomer Jay Smith led all players with 44 receiving yards. Quarterback Marc Mueller played the first half for the Rams and was 9-for-18 with 79 yards. Adam Grilj, Jamir Walker, and Joey Dwyer all registered interceptions for the Rams, while Justin Edralin and Zach Gorski tied for the team lead with 3.5 tackles.
Coombs led the Bisons with 64 rushing yards, while Williams completed seven of his 13 pass attempts for 112 yards and a touchdown. Stu Schollaardt had three catches for 39 yards for Manitoba, which was led defensively by Evan Gill’s 5.5 tackles and a sack. The Bisons also had three interceptions, as David Berg, David Ferrier, and Riley Coates all had picks.
The Rams open up the Canada West schedule at home next Friday at 7 p.m. against UBC. Manitoba will entertain the Calgary Dinos on Saturday in Winnipeg.
U of R Athletics
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August 26, 2011
by Nicole Betker, Huskies Sports Information
Led by Gilbert-Knorren, Huskies defeat Lancers in preseason
SASKATOON - See Jahlani run. See Jahlani dance. Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren, a second-year quarterback for the University of Saskatchewan, showed flash and dash Friday as the Huskies defeated the Windsor Lancers 34-23 in a Canadian Interuniversity Sport pre-season game at Griffiths Stadium.
Gilbert-Knorren, who is from Edmonton, is competing with Trent Peterson, a third-year veteran from Calgary, to be the starting quarterback for the Huskies. The role is open after Laurence Nixon graduated from the team.
Gilbert-Knorren scored on a one-yard run Friday and fired a 45-yard touchdown pass to Matt Walker. Gilbert-Knorren was 8-for-13 passing for 152 yards. He added 96 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Peterson added a touchdown pass to Mitch Stevens. Running back Dexter Janke scored the other touchdown for the Huskies.
Stephen McDonald added a 27-yard field goal and two converts for Saskatchewan. Cole Sampson had a convert and a single and Denton Kolodzinski one convert. A safety touch completed the scoring.
Running back Shomari Grant, receiver Cory Fernandes and receiver Dylan Whitfield scored touchdowns for the Lancers.
Dan Cerino had three converts and two singles for Windsor. Grant, who is from Kissimmee, Fla., rushed for 57 yards and had 75 yards receiving plus a touchdown.
The Huskies made a good defensive stand in the second quarter. After Gilbert-Knorren fumbled in the backfield on a hit by Windsor blitzing linebacker Akeen Whonder, defensive lineman Taras Poypilnyi recovered the ball on the Saskatchewan 20-yard line. But the Lancers couldn't muster any offence. When a 24-yard field goal attempt by Cerino was wide, the Huskies returned the kick out of the end zone. No points Windsor.
Saskatchewan's third touchdown was also a tribute to defence. Defensive back Luke Thiel intercepted a pass deep down the middle of the field and returned it 55 yards to the Windsor one-yard line in the third quarter. Janke added the finish, scoring a touchdown on a run the next play.
Windsor came to Saskatoon with a lineup of 51 players, half of them being in their first or second year with the team. All three quarterbacks played for Windsor. Sam Malian and Austin Kennedy alternated through the first three quarters and Andrew Downer came in for the fourth quarter. Saskatchewan also had game time for its three quarterbacks. Trent Peterson and Gilbert-Knorren did the bulk of the work, with Parker Siemens playing in the fourth quarter. Parker's dad Doug was a starting quarterback for the Huskies in the 1980s.
Saskatchewan begins the regular season Sept. 2 at home to the Alberta Golden Bears. Windsor meets the Toronto Blues to open the league schedule Sept. 5. The Huskies were 6-2 in the regular season in the Canada West conference last year, the Lancers 2-6 in Ontario. Joe D'Amore is the first-year head coach of the Lancers after being an assistant with the club last season.
When D'Amore was a high school coach, he was with the Villanova Wildcats and the Sandwich Sabres, which are both in Lasalle, Ont., just down the road from Windsor. Sandwich High later became home to Malian, who besides being a quarterback for the Lancers is an honours student heading into his fourth year of kinesiology.
Brian Towriss enters his 28th season as coach of the Huskies. Towriss is two wins away from tying the Canadian Interuniversity Sport record for career wins in regular season and playoffs. He has 167 wins. Larry Haylor, former coach of the Western Ontario Mustangs, holds the record with 169 wins. Haylor, who grew up in Prince Albert, played quarterback for the Huskies in the 1960s.
huskies.usask.ca
GAME SUMMARY
First Quarter
Windsor — Single Dan Cerino 31 4:08
Windsor — Touchdown Shomari Grant 75 pass from Austin Kennedy. Convert Cerino 7:51
Saskatchewan — TD Mitch Stevens 20 pass from Trent Peterson. Convert Stephen McDonald 13:37
Second Quarter
Saskatchewan — Touchdown Jahlani GIlbert-Knorren 1 run. Convert McDonald 1:36
Windsor — SIngle Cerino 41 5:56
Windsor — Touchdown Cory Fernandes 5 pass from Sam Malian. Convert Cerino 12:33
Saskatchewan — FG McDonald 27 14:41
Third Quarter
Saskatchewan — Safety touch (Cerino concedes in punt formation from end zone) 1:18
Saskatchewan — TD Dexter Janke 1 run. Convert Cole Sampson 2:58
Saskatchewan — Single Sampson 65 3:00
Fourth Quarter
Windsor — TD Dylan Whitfield 22 pass from Andrew Downer. Convert Cerino 5:45
Saskatchewan — TD Matt Walker 45 pass from Gilbert-Knorren. Convert Denton Kolodzinski 11:33
Scoring by quarter:
Windsor 8 8 0 7 — 23
Saskatchewan 7 10 10 7 — 34
Yardsticks
Windsor Sask
1st Downs 16 23
Yd rush 134 208
Yd passing 236 222
Pass att-comp 30-18 26-13
Net offence 352 403
Int by 1 1
Fumbles-lost 0-0 6-1
Punt-ave. 11-37.5 9-38.3
Penalties-yds 10-52 7-70
Individual
Rushing — Windsor: Shomari Grant 10-57, Kamar Anglin 4-39, Sam Malian 1-19, Paul Lefaive 6-9, Austin Kennedy 5-5, Gilbert Stewart 1-3, Mitch Dender 2-2. Sask.: Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren 11-96, 1 TD, Mark Klause 6-66, Connor Lutz 4-28, Dexter Janke 6-18, 1 TD, Ben Coakwell 2-7, Garrett Bolen 2-1, Shane Buchanan 1-1, Kent Rempel 2-1, Denton Kolodzinski 1-(-10),
Receiving — Windsor: Grant 2-75 1 TD, Dylan Whitfield 4-55 1 TD, Cory Fernandes 4-38 1 TD, Kyle Tyo 3-33, Aaron Karamath 2-17, Mitch Dender 2-12, Jordan Brescacin 1-6. Sask.: Jarit Lambert 7-78, Matt Walker 1-45 1 TD, Braeden George 1-34, Garrett Bolen 2-31, Mitch Stevens 1-20 1 TD, Christian Gottenbos 2-10, Kit Hillis 1-8, Garrett Burgess 1-5.
Passing — Windsor: Sam Malian 5-10, 50 yds, 1 TD, Austin Kennedy 9-13, 144 yd, 1 TD, 1 int., Andrew Downer 4-7, 42 yds, 1 TD. Sask.: Jahlani Gilbert-Knorren 8-13, 152 yds, 1 TD, 1 int, Trent Peterson 4-12, 60 yds, 1 TD, 1 int., Parker Siemens 1-1, 10 yds
Fumble recoveries — Windsor: Akeem Whonder.
Interceptions by — Windsor: Josh Burns. Sask.: Luke Thiel
huskies.usask.ca